Scarlet
by FlagsAroundTheWorld
Summary: Tino is a vampire. But not very good at it and is considered improper by the rest of the vampires he lives with. And in one month, he meets a boy who strongly wants to learn the truth about the world, a person claiming to be a vampire hunter, and a man he is mysteriously drawn to. Swedenxvampire!Finland


Despite the freezing wind blowing through the small town in Pennsylvania, Tino was burning hot, sweating and freezing against his ruddy face. His was panting hard as he ran, desperately trying to find someone before he was going to black out. The heat was intense, far from comforting warmth during a fall's night. His heart was thumping painfully against his chest and in his eardrums.

_Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!_

His footsteps crunched through the snow thickly and he paused only to look around. There were people, bunch of them. Far more than needed if he were going to commit his act on a random victim. Too many eyewitnesses. He cursed underneath his feverish breath and he bolted onward to hopefully a more secluded area. The central park was the closest and during the late hours, the less crowded. Especially if it were snowing as it was now. He made no choice and followed the path, begging for at least one person to be wandering around.

Alone.

_Please! Please! I can barely hold it in!_

His teeth were aching tremendously, and taking it all on himself no longer satisfied himself. Tears began to leak from the corner of his eyes. It was painful to hold it in so long. So terribly, painfully long.

_Please oh please!_

Suddenly, as if someone delivered his wish, a scent of a human entered his nose. There was no one else besides that one person he could pick up.

_Got it!_

Sure enough as his nose predicted, there one was one lonely man, flicking through his cell phone with a deep frown. He was away from everybody as if he purposely hid himself away from the world. He didn't even look up when Tino scurried over to the wooden bench. His panting grew heavier, his teeth ached stronger, and his vision became blurrier. He need it now.

"Ah, excuse me sir," he said, wincing slightly when he felt a light pinch in his mouth. He ignored it as quickly as it happened. "I-I need some help."

"With what kid?" the man looked up, locking eyes with his innocent pair as if he were the prey instead of the other way around. "I'm kind of busy right now."

Tino glimpsed at the phone and spotted an unfinished text message blaring on the screen. He couldn't make out all the words as they were all mashed together with temporarily impaired vision. With that glare in his eyes, he didn't think he even wanted to read. The man, looking no more than someone in his mid twenties, snapped his phone shut. Tino guessed by the gesture, albeit a little aggressive, was somewhat willing to help.

Perfect.

"Um…come here." he gestured him to stand up nervously. It would have been awkward if he did while he was sitting down. He had never done it but had heard from other's previous experience that it was quite uncomfortable with the bending of the back.

"What? What for?" He questioned the smaller blond.

"Huh? Ah, I just need your help please…" If it weren't for the lack of blood circulating through his veins, he would have flushed a deep red. "I just need something of yours!"

"With what, money? News flash, I don't have any money. I lost it all with my worst luck! What's going on? You don't look hurt."

"Money? No! Please, come over here before I snap!" He shut his lips closed. _Poor choice of words Tino, poor choice of words…_

"Snap? What are you talking about? Are you going to hurt me if I don't help?"

"Yes! I mean no, I mean…" With his head pounding, his teeth aching, his mind was whirling around like a fierce maelstrom.

The man took a step back and snapped open his cell phone like unsheathing his sword. The word snap definitely aroused some unwanted uneasiness. "I'm calling the police. You're acting pretty suspicious. You'll get help alright."

"No wait!" he couldn't take it. He couldn't explain who he really is and calling them might have well send him to jail. He had to act fast. Swiftly, without thinking, he darted forward. As the man was ready to call, he threw himself on him, wrapping his arms in a rib crushing embrace.

His cell phone slipped from his finger and onto the patch of snow still holding the number but fortunately he hadn't dialed it. And before he could scream, Tino's lips parted, revealing a pair of glimmering but deadly fangs. And as quickly as he open his jaws, he drove them deep inside his neck.

_Ah, it's so warm…_

Despite the shear fear and pain expressing on the man's face, Tino's eyelids fluttered closed in bliss. He absorbed the heat that warmed up his body like sipping a steaming bowl of soup and let out a soft moan against his cool flesh. It was amazing to say the least and though the act would be grotesque and taboo to others, he enjoyed every time hunger pains ached in his teeth.

As he gulped down the crimson greedily, he didn't hear the sound of snow crunching up to him but stayed a good distance. The person too had pale blond hair, paler than Tino's and a far deep, almost soulless pair of blue eyes. He gazed indolently at the two, hands stuffed inside the comforts of his pockets.

_Pop!_

Tino released him from his neck as his victim tumbled to the ground, weak from loss of blood. Blood dripped down the tips of his perfectly curved fangs like venom from a snake and licked them gingerly for not to nip himself. The whole act all together wasn't as bloody and gory as they made it seem in books or movies. Blood rarely gushed from their necks as they were experts on which vein to puncture without killing them. What was left of the attack scene was the unconscious man with two faint prick marks, resembling tiny holes from a shot rather than fangs.

Tino's body felt warm and snug, feeling like a blanket enveloped his body in another layer of warmth. He smiled to himself, pleased that another attack went unnoticed to anyone. Or so he thought.

"Another bite this week, pitiful."

"Ohyaaa!" Tino spun his whole body around to face the one man audience, gazing with those odd eyes of his. During the moment of relishing his fulfillment, he had completely blocked out all his other senses.

Facing him was a very familiar face that made his body return back to his comfort level. It was no other than Lukas, another vampire. He was the kind of vampire to look up to: full of knowledge and experience, quick on his feet, and even with a clean and a very appealing look that made it seem to make his victims come towards him instead. Although he was gifted with all these qualities, he had a quite negative personality and found teasing poor Tino his favorite source of entertainment.

"Lukas, you scared me. Don't do that!" He chided softly, not wanting to catch anymore attention. Now, with fresh blood coursing through his veins, he could blush a bright red shade that brought a tomato to shame.

Though Lukas hardly expressed any emotions, he could tell that he was smiling mentally. A devious smirk that made his cheeks grew hotter. "All I did was walk up casually." he said with feign innocence. "You just get startled easily."

He puffed out his cheeks annoyingly. As he was about to step over his fallen victim, fully unconscious in the meantime, he thought popped in his head. And with that, before leaving with the other vampire, the man's wallet was now occupied with small amount of money. Lukas had rolled his eyes at the act.

"You should learn to be a proper vampire rather than a human." Lukas commented as they followed step along the paths. "I mean, you're ought to never see him again."

"I know but he didn't have any money." Tino explained. "He was already having a crappy day before I came in to screw it up even more."

"Let's just hope someone doesn't rob him while he's out." Lukas drawled and glimpsed over his shoulder. The man was still sprawled on the snow. He wouldn't remember the vampiric incident earlier thanks to the hypnotic spell only vampires could all possess to wipe his memory clean from an half an hour before.

Tino's mood dropped. Yeah, that would suck.

"Did Emil's fangs grow yet?" Tino asked to change the subject.

Emil was a few years younger than them and was Lukas' dear brother. Like humans going through the stages of puberty, vampires would go through a drastic change from a vampire without any fangs to one with a lifetime set of sharp canines and ready to feast on blood like a proper vampire. He was already showing signs, from painful toothaches and night sweats. Lukas had already prepared him for drinking blood to get accustomed to the odd taste rather than drinking cola all night long by slitting his arm for him to drink and even a little nick at his neck to get him started.

So far, his premature fangs remained the size of a regular humans from

"Not yet." Lukas answered. "But he has been asking for more of my blood lately so he must be enjoying it."

"Hmm." He hummed. He had heard drinking from a family member tasted sweeter than a stranger's or a friend. He never experienced it himself as he was an orphan like Lukas, Emil, and another vampire who was in charge of the pack, Mathias. Drinking from someone's blood also have you their feelings of who they were. The man he drank from his neck game him the impression he was a hard worker but lost it all recently. It was bittersweet but his ardent hostility towards him actually gave more flavor. Lukas with Emil was sweet and parent like. No wonder why Emil wanted more.

Lukas shivered. "It's too cold for fall." He grumbled. "Not even Halloween but it feels like Christmas is more around the corner."

Tino's face lit up. Christmas was his favorite time of the year, even for a vampire. The Christmas lights adorning a earthy scented tree, presents, snow, songs, and so much more, he looked forward to it even right after Christmas day. Yeah, Tino was made fun of a lot with the other vampires.

Lukas spotted the sudden change in Tino and rolled his eyes. "Be a proper vampire idiot." He gave him a quick smack on the back of his head.

* * *

The mansion where the stayed was located in the thick woods encircling the town. There were hiking trails but thankfully were far from vampire territory. The mansion itself was far from old and people had long forgotten its existence as many believed either it was torn down or nature had taken its toll on it.

But it remained perfectly intact and suitable for vampires to live. It was spacious and dark and with thick curtains drawn, it was safe for them to wonder around when they awakened when the sun was still present. It also was a perfect place to play hide and seek, and he and Emil loved to play while the other two were still sleeping.

As they opened the door and entered rather loudly with the heavy doors slamming back in place, Tino spotted Lukas' little brother seated at the middle of the steps in the grand stairway. He was quiet and mature and surprisingly fitted the vampire's nature at a early age. His hair glimmered a silver white and had bright pink eyes, not exactly the stereotypical vampire humans had depicted them. He didn't look like he was waiting long. Tino smiled.

"Hey Emil! Waiting for us again?" He said, flashing his pearly teeth. His canines shrunk after feasting, resembling human jaws.

Emil nodded and stood up to head over to them, more specifically Lukas. He had an pained expression. His teeth must be hurting again.

"It hurts Lu." He gestured to his teeth as expected.

"Let me see." Gingerly, Emil opened his mouth for him to see. He scanned his teeth, furrowing his eyebrows. "Nothing yet."

Emil frowned. "But it hurts really bad." He whined in a small voice.

Lukas gave his silver hair a small ruffle. "It's a part of growing up."

"Yeah," Tino agreed sympathetically. "When my teeth were hurting, I had the urge to chew on anything like a baby teething."

"I tried chewing on jerky but it made it even more sensitive." Emil replied with a sigh. "I just want it to be over." Suddenly, his nose twitched as he picked up a familiar scent. He averted his eyes to Tino. "I smell blood on you. Did you bite someone again?"

"Tsk tsk." Lukas added more to Tino's embarrassment.

"I couldn't help myself!" He wailed in his defense hastily. "I had to. Besides, last time I had to rush it and I didn't take as much."

Vampires weren't required to drink blood on a daily base. They could survive on human food and drinks for at least a week until their instincts kicked in to fuel their veins. It was frowned upon on biting several times in one week unless they were like Emil who's body was adjusting to a mature vampire. Tino knew it was a mistake to attack the man but again, he couldn't hold it anymore.

"Wait till Mathias hears about this." Emil mentioned. Mathias, acting as the alpha male in their pack, had a strict one week one bite policy and threw quite a fit if the rule was broken.

"No don't!" He hissed, eyes darting behind the young just in case if the said vampire would suddenly appear. He had an tendency to do that.. "I'll do anything. Please don't tell him."

Emil scrunched his face as if he were in deep thought. Then he relaxed his face. "I want you to split the blood with me." He demanded. With his infantile innocence, no one would have taken him serious. But Tino knew damn well he was. Emil rarely played around.

"You hear him," Lukas said idly and breezed up the staircase to his room. "You split it up."

It would be Emil's first time drinking blood rather than Lukas' and actually seemed pretty eager to try it out. But Tino was torn. He so badly wanted to keep the blood he collected earlier and feared that giving some to Emil would trigger another episode later on in the week, but the fear of Mathias hearing about this was more to worry about. He would try his best to prevent another episode by consuming raw meat as a substitution. Which unfortunately tasted nothing like human.

"Fine." Tino sighed. "If it keeps you quiet."

Emil beamed mildly as Tino unrolled his sleeve and punctured his wrist with his small fangs. Once it was deep enough to bleed, he offered his wrist to Emil which he did the rest with his lips latched firmly over his wound. Even without his fangs, he was more of a proper vampire than Tino.

* * *

There was another policy far more important than biting more than once Mathias created for the others to strictly without a doubt obey. It was the term "Less is best" with sociability with humans. Mathias' paranoia with humans was made clear when he ordered the three to stay clear from humans as much as possible just in case. One little word can be slipped and soon they'll have to evacuate their mansion in search for a new home with a new identity.

This rule truly made Tino upset as he was considered the social butterfly of the pack. He wasn't like Mathias who craved as much attention as a celebrity in their own home but he wasn't like Lukas who was more of a loner if it weren't for his little brother tagging along wherever he went.

He wanted friends.

Sure, he enjoyed the company of Lukas, Mathias, and Emil. But nearing the age of seventeen, forming social groups and hanging out with friends at night was an important factor of being a teenager. Vampires surely had their lives rough. Tino hated it.

Yes, vampires had a life span longer than any human and were equipped with super strength and speed. Their senses were keener and their teeth could intimidate a wolf. But, sunlight was their enemy. And the majority of the human race came out during the deadly time.

At least parities were usually held at night.

But there was Mathias stupid rule.

Tino rolled in his bed, frustrated. Coffins were too troublesome to sleep in as he was claustrophobic. Yep, being a vampire really did suck.

_Knock, knock._

"Come in." Tino mumbled through his pillow. He didn't want any company after losing some of the blood he collected earlier that put him in a sour mood. But he couldn't say no to whoever it was.

The door opened, peeking in was Lukas. "You're going to bed already? It's only two in the morning."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well yesterday." He admitted.

"Alright then," Lukas said softly. "By the way, we didn't tell Mathias about earlier." He added in.

"Oh thanks." Tino flashed a brief smile. Although Lukas was a weird friend, probably the weirdest, he still counted on him. "You really saved my butt there."

Then, Lukas narrowed his steel blue eyes sharply at him. "Don't expect that again." He said tartly. "Living with us means following the rules. If you do that random stunt on us again, we can lose our cover. Remember, we work as a team. Not solo. You were lucky I came in the right time to watch over."

Tino's mood wilted. "I know. I promise it wont happen again. I promise."

"You better promise," Lukas removed his eyes away from the Finn to the hallways. "Next time wont be so lucky."

Tino swallowed thickly and nodded. Lukas left, keeping the door cracked open and he was too lazy to go up and close it himself. Instead, he sank even deeper in his bed, musing to himself.

_Next time I wont be so lucky. Man, add more of the pressure will you? I deserve to be kicked out. I was a little careless out there. But I couldn't help myself! Even Emil, Emil! Could do a better job as a vampire than me._

He rolled on to his back, facing the darkened ceiling above.

_Sometimes I wonder why I was born this way. I suck at being a vampire and I'll probably suck as being a human too. But I want to have friends! I want to do what they want to do. Being here is just too depressing. And I even don't fit in here._

He exhaled woefully.

_I'm just an awkward person in general._

**First chapter done! Hehe, I love writing about vampires and reading about them. They're so fascinating and you can make them anyway you want. It was really fun writing about them and I hope you enjoyed it. I gladly accept reviews and comments. I follow the "No Review No New Chapter" rule. So the more reviews I get, the better the chance I'll continue and finish the story quicker.**

**I really got in the mood about writing this because everyone is already getting ready for Halloween where I live and it's probably my favorite holiday. Though I get scared very easily. I just love it!**

**I might write another story to fit for Halloween later on that deals more with Iceland. Hopefully it'll be finished before the end of the month so I can write both series before the end of October.**


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